Sunday, November 18, 2012

Streaks, Soul Train, and the Trenches

By PaulyLos Angeles, CA

Lakers' coach Mike D'Antoni playing pro ball in Italy circa 1987

I'm more than halfway through my goal on "writing about sports betting every day in November" and I'm having fun with it, so much so I might go on until the end of the year. Ah, maybe I shouldn't get too ahead of myself. For now, it's an every day thing which is a good thing.

In case you haven't seen any of my latest project Ocelot Sports, here's what you missed over the last two weeks or so:

Ugly Guts and Bama Busts - Sweet home Alabama! The #1 ranked team got upset and I got my ass kicked betting on college football.

Seachickens, Bowling Alleys, and Pai Gow - I took a quick trip to Seattle to visit old friends and go see the Jets/Seachickens game. Oh, and then when it got really late, Johnnie took me to a sketchy casino in the back of a bowling alley. Hilarity ensues.

A Curious Case of Byron Leftwich - How important is a backup quarterback? Big Ben went down during Monday Night Football and journeyman QB Byron Leftwich let the Steelers to... an ugly loss.

Fading the Bible Belt and Knicks 5-0 - ESPN hosted a 24-hour marathon of college basketball during their "Tip Off" bender. I could not resit betting a few games including Hawaii playing a game at 1am.

The Bobkittens Nevermore - Our plan was to fade the Charlotte Bobkittens every time they played. That hasn't worked out this year, so it's time to fade the Washington Wiz.

Eurotrash Dildos and Knicks 6-0 - A fucking Italian Rooster chucked up an airball and cost me a bet. Oh, and the Knicks continued to roll as the last undefeated team in the NBA.

Sometimes It Rains - I was bogged down in a horrible college football losing streak but somehow managed to snap out of it. Along the way, I tweaked my NBA system and embarked on a 4-0 run and danced around my apartment like the line dancers on Soul Train.

Here's a quick link to the Ocelot Sports archives. You can also follow @OcelotSports on Twitter, because that's where we post our daily plays and half-baked tweets about random live sporting events.

Also, here's last two episodes of the Everything Is Bettable podcast I recorded with Jesse May. I appear in the opening and closing segments (a.k.a. the first five and last five minutes):

Everything Is Bettable - Episode 8: Jesse inquires about a computer program, HAL420, that helps me with my handicapping and I explain my affinity for the Golden State Warriors as my bail out team (a.k.a. Bringing in the Wolf).

Everything Is Bettable - Episode 9: Jesse gives me a little guff about sweating a Monday Night Football game after Big Ben got hurt and left the game. I also tell a story about Kobe Bryant's dad, JellyBean Bryant, and his relationship with new Lakers' head coach Mike A'Antoni.

Speaking of podcasts, my new favorite podcast is The Trenches with former NFL lineman Ephraim Salaam and Grantland columnist Robert Mays. You can find it over at Grantland. The Trenches is a fascinating and truthful look at what it was like to be a pro and offensive lineman fighting for dear life in the trenches. Give it a listen.